Galaxy GeForce GT 640 GC 1GB DDR3 Review - GK107 is no GK104

GPU Testbed - Sandy Bridge-E, X79, New Games

For the Radeon HD 7970 3GB review (and all those going forward) we decided it was high time we replaced the somewhat dated Nehalem-based infrastructure (even though honestly, it was fast enough) with something a bit more current. Obviously that meant going with the new Intel Sandy Bridge-E processor and X79 motherboard - by combining support for 40 PCI Express lanes and 3-4 full size GPU slots it makes for the perfect GPU base.

From this point on, our reviews will based around the following system:

Intel Core i7-3960X CPU

ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard

Corsair DDR3-1600 4 x 4GB Vengeance memory

600GB Western Digital VelociRaptor HDD

1200 watt Corsair Professional Series power supply

Windows 7 SP1 x64

The ASUS P9X79 Pro

The Intel Core i7-3960X gives us the fastest consumer-level CPU on the market to help eliminate the possibility of any processor-based bottlenecks in our testing (whenever possible). There are still going to be some games that could use more speed (Skyrim comes to mind) but for our purposes this is as good as you get without getting into any kind of overclocked settings. The ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard has enough space for three dual-slot graphics cards when the time comes for testing 3-Way SLI and CrossFire and 8 DIMM slots should we want to go up from our current setup of 16GB of Corsair Vengeance memory.

I chose to stick with the 600GB VelociRaptor hard drive rather than an SSD as our total installation size with Windows 7 SP1 x64 and 6+ games was already hitting the 115GB range. Finally the 1200 watt power supply from Corsair offers up more than enough juice for three power hungry graphics cards while running quietly enough to not throw off our noise testing drastically.

Speaking of noise, for this article we are re-introducing our sound level testing thanks to the Extech 407738 Sound Level Meter capable of monitoring decibel ratings as low as 20db. This allows me to accurately tell you the noise levels generated by the graphics cards that make in-house at PC Perspective.

Along with the new hardware configuration comes a host of new games. For this review we will be using the following benchmarks and games to evaluate performance:

Battlefield 3

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

DiRT 3

Batman: Arkham City

Metro 2033

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

3DMark11

Unigine Heaven v2.5

This collection of games is both current and takes into account several different genres as well - first person role playing, third person action, racing, first person shooting, etc. 3DMark11 and Unigine Heaven give us a way to see how the cards stack up in a more synthetic environment while the real-world gameplay testing provided by the six games completes the performance picture.

For our testing with the Galaxy GT 640 we set out to compare the new offering and the GK107 against other cards already on the market that fall into this same price range. Galaxy’s GT 640 GC card will sell for $99 MSRP putting it in a very crowded space in the market. For my testing I chose the following lineup:

For AMD, the Radeon HD 7750 is the lowest priced card in the 7000 family today though they do have lower options in the 6000 brand that are still for sale. For our testing though, I think the most direct comparison is still the HD 7750 and the GT 640 in terms of price and target audience – budget gamers looking to upgrade an IGP solution they may have purchased with Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge.

did you try some overclock on this card? particularly the core,
this card as it is is far from a good choice at its price point, BUT with DDR5 and a higher clock it could probably compete well with the 550 Ti,
and that's one of the reasons why I think there is no GT 640 DDR5 right now... high demand for gk107 on mobile and OEM!? and still significant stocks of old gf106 stuff for sale (GTS 450, GTX 550 Ti)?
it's the only explanation I can see...

GTS450 and the slim 550's are VERY popular for (ATX) HTPC use right now. With the exception of the 670,680 the entire 600 line is a total dud thus far..At least that what the consumers are saying with their wallets.

Hello guys, just wondering how does this card comapre to the nvidia gt240 i have with 1 gb ram ddr5.im looking to boost the graphics a bit.it has to fit into a hp case at the moment so i cant do a big card and the other limit im having is my 350 watt power supply,are the cuda cores the most important thing to look for or clock speed ?? thanks

I am happy with this graphics card but I am no expert. I can run Starcraft 2 on Ultra settings and Train Simulator 2013 on High settings. Milkdrop looks great. I can't run everything at full hd but it runs quietly.

I agree the GT440 DDR5 is one of the most underrated cards, Ive been using it for a couple years now and have it overclocked to almost 900 mhz and it plays all of my games well, not everyone has the money for the high end cards, Im gonna try this card out soon.

I just picked this card up a week ago or so for about 80 dollars at my local best buy. I'm running an aged Core 2 Duo 2.13gh and a limited 375watt psu. I was originally using a GeForce 9500GT...I am in that realm where I don't have money to throw out on a whole bunch of crap for a PC right now - - but I needed a little extra horsepower to play games like Tomb Raider and such. 6 or 8 months from now - -I may be in a better situation...but for now - - I had limited options and took a gamble on the 640 (This exact card, incidentally). So far, it rocks. Paired with this older processor and such...I don't really notice any of the "limitations" drawn from only having DDR3 ram and such. I am not rocking a Core i7 in this thing. I have a Core i7 machine back home with my parents that is running a 560 Ti - but i'm in Virginia..that thing is in Florida - - gotta do what I can with what I got. I'm also running on a 1280x1024 display, so I don't have super high resolutions to try and run at either. And oddly I can play Battlefield 3 Campaign with my presets from my Core i7 machine which are all Ultra. Don't really know why it's playable or if it's just a bug, but it seems to work just fine and without any really noticeable lag, will have to load up fraps and check the framerate. But in the end, for anyone with technical restraints and monetary restraints, I can say that this card is worth it... If you can get it under 100 dollars - - it's definitely worth it, and even more so if on an older machine like me.

I originally bought this exact card from Best Buy to put in my aging Dell machine on a Pentium 4 3ghz with 4gb of DDR2. FAR from modern modest specs, but I was on a budget.

Recently I upgraded to a budget gaming desktop (Also from Best Buy), the Gateway DX4885, which has a 3.16 ghz Core i5 with 8gb of DDR3. I got the system home and found out that they used a BTX Power Connector with a meager 300w supply, which makes upgrading next to impossible without changing the motherboard or buying from Gateway directly. I plan to eventually change out the board for something mainstream with more features, with an ATX connector, since the case itself is a regulard ATX case with a non-standard motherboard and supply. I have a 450w supply I had only recently purchased when the supply died on the replaced machine.

TL:DR

The GT640 would not boot without disconnecting the DVD drive, due to lack of power wattage. Howevever, removing power to the DVD drive (which I rarely need anyway) left me with enough wattage to power both the graphics card, and to also use the dvd SATA and power connectors for an extra notebook-size 1.5 TB HDD.

Medical Treatment: Pharmacies throughout Thailand sell many medical drugs and treatments without
the need for a prescription. Especially intrepid Marcia, my economist buddy who was an intern at Thailand's central
bank. Stomach upsets: Diarrhoea is a common complaint for travellers.